Christopher Stevens

Billy Connolly Does... review

Billy Connolly explained the rules as he fondly recounted his years of 'bad behaviour' in the first of a series of anecdotes, plus clips from his live shows, Billy Connolly Does... (Gold).

Shakespeare & Hathaway - Private Investigators review

The cosy little crime comedy that deserves a bigger stage.

This Is Going To Hurt review

Whishaw is always brilliant when playing passive-aggressive, nervous men at breaking point, and this role - adapted from Kay's real-life medical memoir by the author himself - is perfect for him.

Barry Cryer: looking back at a lifetime of laughs

Barry Cryer was the patron saint of comedians, the figurehead with a pint in his hand and a gag for every occasion.

Mandy review

These 15-minute episodes are like extended sketches, a comedy form that is almost never seen now. Morgan, who writes and directs the show as well as being its central character, has done a splendid job of repairing and restoring the format.

Toast Of Tinseltown review

Toast is hot stuff - with more laughs in 30 minutes than in most sitcom series.

Ghosts review

Ghosts can sometimes teeter on the brink of tweeness and this storyline almost pushed it over the edge. Luckily, there's more acerbic humour to keep the balance.

Would I Lie To You? At Christmas, review

Would I Lie To You? is a blissfully funny format, but it does highlight the dearth of real chat shows on TV.

This year's must-read books written by comedians

Including Bob Mortimer, Harry Hill, Jimmy Carr, Billy Connolly, Michael McIntyre, Daisy May Cooper and Jack Whitehall.

The chief problem with The Outlaws is that none of them is very likeable. Writer Stephen Merchant plays Greg, a solicitor arrested in his car with a prostitute. Eleanor Tomlinson is a social media junkie, in every sense, with a vicious temper, and Christopher Walken is an alcoholic fraudster who talks like a Prohibition-era gangster.

There's barely any story. Last week someone stole some money and hid it, this week a couple of other people found it. We're supposed to be drawn into the characters' lives. But I'd cross the road to avoid most of them.